Once again, OSF has done a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It, that perpetual crowd pleaser. This version, directed by J.R. Sullivan, is bright, snappy and delightfully silly. You just have to love it.
This time around Rosalind is played (by Miriam A. Laube) as giddy, spontaneous and terribly young. No wisdom or philosophy here. She is pure joy.
There is a wonderful chemistry in this cast. Danforth Comins is a good match to Laube's Rosalind as the passionate, pining Orlando. Julie Oda's Celia is the picture of reason-until she falls for the transformed and reformed Oliver. Robert Sicular is marvelous as the cynical and eternally sour philosopher, Jaques.
Sullivan set this production in 1930's America. Sullivan and composer John Tanner deliberately put Shakespeare's "songs" into a decidedly 30's sound. There is a bit of Woody Guthrie, a smidgen of Leadbelly, some 30's upbeat pop music.
William Bloodgood's spare set of huge leafy flats and the lighting by Robert Peterson shift subtly as the scenes-and seasons change. Joyce Kim Lee's lush costumes contrast the sleek court with the "open road" look of Arden.
But ultimately, "As You Like It" is about love, glorious love. And, as always, it's a winner.